Genesee County Water Supply Project

Genesee County Water Supply Summary

CURRENT THREATS

• City of Batavia Water Treatment Plant (WTP), which supplies 50% of the water to County residents, is susceptible to low groundwater conditions caused by drought and surface water contamination by flooding
• The wellfield that supplies the City of Batavia WTP is threatened by contamination from an abandoned landfill and industrial site. Contaminates include Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFAS) and Perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS)
• Genesee County has been under emergency water restrictions for the past four years
• There is no additional water supply to support economic development. 

OBJECTIVES

Resiliency

• Replace the aging and jeopardized City of Batavia WTP with a regional supply network
• Diversify the County’s water supplies with multiple Monroe County Water Authority (MCWA) Great Lakes-sourced water which includes water purchased from the Erie County Water Authority
• Provide public water to rural residents that currently have unreliable, contaminated and unsafe wells

Capacity

• Increase water supply throughout the County for residential use
• Provide water for economic development and support key regional industry priority pillars such as food processing and agribusiness.

PHASED WORK

Phase 1

• Regionalized water supply with a 2.5 million gallon per day (MGD) supply from the Monroe County Water Authority (MCWA)
• Completed in 2001 for $30 million
• Genesee County took over the City of Batavia WTP and used revenue from operations and a $0.60 per 1,000-gallon water surcharge on usage to fund Phase 1.

Phase 2

• Original plans for the Genesee County Water Supply Program Phase 2 envisioned a project in 2010 that would have increased water supply from the MCWA to 10 MGD and allowed for the abandonment of the City of Batavia WTP current operations, but global events and economic impacts did not allow it to be initiated.
• The new phase 2 is currently under construction for $23.5 million
• The phase will supply an additional 2.5 MGD from MCWA sources to stay ahead of growing water demands;
• Funded by an increase of the water surcharge to $1.20 per 1,000 gallons.

Phase 3

• Need to eliminate water shortages and allow for the repurposing of the vulnerable City of Batavia WTP
• Current plans and designs will have a target completion date of 2025
• The estimated cost is currently $150 million, which is too large to be entirely borne by water users
• Closing the City of Batavia WTP will involve a Source-Supply Change for the City of Batavia
• To comply with Lead and Copper Corrosion Rule revisions, the City of Batavia will need to fund $15 million in lead service removals and meter changes. This cost is in addition to the $150 million needed to bring enough water to Genesee County to allow for the decommissioning of the City of Batavia WTP as a source supply and conversion into an integral pumping station.
• Without a Phase 3 project, Genesee County will continue to experience water shortages during peak summer months, weaken residents’ quality of life, and cannot market itself for economic development.